17 September 2016

Muslims have surpassed atheists to become the most disliked group in the US, according to a new study. Participants in a survey for the University of Minnesota were asked to say which group “does not at all agree with my vision of American society”.

Out of 2,500 respondents, 45.5 per cent said Muslims and 41.9 per cent said atheists. The responses, collated in 2014, differ widely from the last time the question was asked in 2003. A decade ago, atheists were the most unpopular group, with 39.6 per cent of people disapproving of them and 26.3 per cent disapproving of Muslims.

In the decade between the two studies, negative opinions about most groups rose. Homosexuals were disliked by 22.6 per cent in 2003, this figure jumped to 29.4 per cent in 2014. Hostility towards Hispanics rose from 7.6 per cent to 17.6 per cent, and African Americans also became more unpopular with a shift from 4.6 per cent to 16.9 per cent. [inews.co.uk] Read more